


Extraction - Epilogue

by WorryinglyInnocent



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Epilogue, F/M, NSFW, PWP, Scars, Smut, Tattoos, extraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 10:29:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11273622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorryinglyInnocent/pseuds/WorryinglyInnocent
Summary: A few months after the events ofExtraction, Belle and Gold take the next step in their relationship, and explore the importance of both remembering and forgetting the past.





	Extraction - Epilogue

Belle had a good feeling about tonight. Her and Gold’s relationship had been a slow and steady one, perhaps not progressing as quickly as Belle would have liked thanks to the various things that kept getting in the way - namely her work and Gold’s family. Still, she couldn’t begrudge Gold wanting to spend more time with the son that he had spent so long separated from, and wanting to split his time between London and Scotland so that he could keep an eye on Regina and Daniel as well.

Tonight though… Tonight was just for them. There were no international crises on the horizon, Blue hadn’t made her stay late at the office, and Gold had taken her to the little restaurant where they’d had their first ‘date’ all those months ago, an enjoyable evening spent getting to know each other and working on their cover before they went out to Avalon. It was nice to be coming back to it without the pressure of the assignment looming over them, and they could just enjoy themselves and the food, and the unspoken promise of what was to come later. Because Belle was sure that something was going to come later. She’d already accepted that it would take a while for her and Gold to go to bed together. Neither of them were trusting people thanks to the lives that they led, and although they had got to know each other very well over the course of the Avalon mission and the few months that had followed, old habits died hard. She also knew that Gold was incredibly self-conscious about his body and the reminders of all that he had suffered that were mapped across it, and it would take him a while to be comfortable enough for her to see it up close and in detail.

She remembered seeing the scars in the hotel room mirror, and wanting to kiss them all better. She still wanted to do that, but he probably wouldn’t appreciate attention being drawn to them. All the same, they were a part of him, and it wouldn’t be right to just ignore them and pretend that they weren’t there.

Belle smiled at the remnants of her cheesecake on her dessert plate. She was getting a little bit ahead of herself, she knew, but she couldn’t help it. This was something that she had been thinking about, pondering about, for months, and now she was more than ready for it to really happen.

She was certain that Gold was feeling the same way. He’d always been enigmatic and hard to read, but there was something different in his manner tonight. Something a little bit more animated, on edge - slightly nervous but slightly excited at the same time, just the same as she was feeling. They didn’t really speak much as Gold took care of the bill and they left the restaurant, but their eyes kept meeting, as if they didn’t want to break the heady little spell that had fallen over them during their meal. When they did speak on the walk back towards Belle’s apartment, it was small, incidental anecdotes, nothing about the huge question mark of ‘we’re going to have sex tonight, right?’ that was hanging in the air above them.

They reached Belle’s building and stopped, still arm in arm from their walk. Belle turned to Gold, looking up at him as he looked up at the building, and she slipped out of his hold, hooking her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply, feeling him relax against her, his own hands slipping into her hair.

“Would you like to come up?” she asked once he released her. There was suggestion in the words, obviously, but nothing cliched. Would you like to come up for a while, for coffee, for another drink… It sounded wrong and forced, creating an excuse that wasn’t required. They both knew what was being insinuated, there was no need to say anything else.

Gold nodded.

“Yes, I would.”

Belle smiled and let them into the building, taking him by the hand and guiding him through the corridors to her flat. It wasn’t the first time that he had been in it, but he was not a frequent visitor and she still felt a little trepidation, hoping that the place looked respectable.

She checked her safety signs, everything still as it should be, and let them in, locking up before turning back to Gold, who was looking around her living room. It was cluttered, like it always was, but it was clean in among the stacks of books and DVDs that made up the majority of her possessions. She hung up her coat and took Gold’s, and then for a moment there was awkwardness, her hands fidgeting as she wondered what to do next.

Surprisingly it was Gold who made the definitive first move, cupping her face and kissing her again. There was more fire in it this time, as if he’d made the decision that this was what he wanted and he was going after it with all his heart.

His hands slipped down to her shoulders, then down again to her waist, and Belle just drank him in, her tongue seeking out every corner of his mouth, tasting wine and chocolate and him. He gave a shy little giggle as he broke away, and there was something so inherently charming in his face as he smiled. The years of hardship began to fall away a little, and although his eventful life was still there beneath the surface, it did not look like it haunted him as much as it usually did.

“What do you want to do now?” Belle asked, slipping her arms around his middle and pulling him in closer. “We don’t have to go straight to the bedroom if you don’t want.”

Gold glanced over at the sofa and the soft old afghan draped haphazardly across it. Belle could tell that he was considering it, just snuggling on the sofa for a little while, but then his hands slipped down to her hips and squeezed a little.

“No,” he said. “No, I think it’s time to go straight to the bedroom.”

Belle smiled; whilst she would respect his decision to go slow if he wanted to, she was very pleased that events had taken this turn. She twisted out of his hold, taking him by the hand and leading him across the small flat to her bedroom door.

“This is it,” she said. Thankfully the bed was made and there wasn’t any dirty laundry anywhere. It wasn’t that Belle was a particularly messy person, but she didn’t generally have the  energy to keep her home immaculate after spending her working days - and more often than not her nights as well - trying to keep the country safe from whatever threats were prowling at its door at any given time. All the same, something inside her twisted a little, anxious for Gold’s approval. She didn’t know why his opinion was so important; she’d never felt this nervousness with any of her previous partners, but then, none of them had ever really been as important to her as Gold was. There was something different about him that gave his thoughts so much more weight to her.

“Do you like it?” she asked.

“It’s very you,” Gold said, and he nodded. “Yes, I like it.”

Belle flicked the lights in the flat off, dimming the room into the summer evening twilight that filtered through the cheap curtains. Light enough to see what they were doing, but dark enough to hide anything that either of them wanted to be kept hidden; a kind light. Closing the door behind her, she sauntered over to the bed and sat down, patting the covers beside her to invite Gold over. This was it. It wasn’t a point of no return, for that implied that the thing to follow would be unpleasant, and Belle knew that it would be quite the opposite. But it was definitely a turning point. This was further than they had ever come in their relationship before, and they were on a roll with it. Gold leaned his cane against the doorframe and crossed the room towards her, settling beside her before slipping his arms back around her waist and pressing his lips against hers. There was more passion in his embrace now, his hands gripping her a little tighter and his mouth moving against hers with a little more fervent urgency. The last vestiges of hesitation were being stripped away.

“I love you,” he whispered in her ear as he pulled away, before nipping soft kisses down her jaw and neck.

Belle smiled, her fingers sinking into the soft wool of his jacket shoulders. “I love you too.”

Maybe it had been premature, making that confession before getting into bed together, but Belle had felt that spark of something indescribable between them almost as soon as they met, and over the time that they had got to know each other and been slowly dating, it had only grown and grown, until just the other day they had admitted it to each other, that those first stirrings of something more that they’d experienced in Avalon were something bright and true and so much bigger than either of them.

Gold slipped his jacket off his shoulders and Belle began on his waistcoat, popping each button in turn until another layer was removed. His tie followed in short order, but then there was a pause, Belle’s fingers stilling on the first button of his shirt after opening the collar. Gold was self-conscious about the scarring that webbed across most of his body; there was a reason why he kept himself so covered up and wrapped in layers upon layers of armour.

“Whenever you’re ready,” she said eventually, moving her fingers away and taking Gold’s hands in hers, giving a squeeze of reassurance before bringing his fingers to the buttons on the front of her blouse. “My turn now, I think.”

The little moment of awkwardness was over, and Gold smiled as he began to work her buttons, his long fingers nimble against the little pearl dots. In the half-light, Belle could see that his eyes were dark with desire and showed no signs of hesitation. When he reached the last button he spread the halves of her shirt reverently, gazing at the skin of her decolletage and stomach as it was revealed to him. Belle shrugged the blouse off altogether and wrapped her arms back around him again, pulling him in for another kiss. Kissing was good, it seemed to ground him. They were good at kissing, and Belle intended for them to get better. And to start kissing other places. She pecked her way over his neck, little butterfly kisses telling him just how much she wanted to go lower, beneath the barrier of his shirt.

She broke away, giving him an encouraging smile, and he returned it, a little nervous, before beginning to unfasten his own buttons. Belle felt it was important that he took that step himself, and she watched as he worked his way down slowly, biting her bottom lip in anticipation. She’d seen him without his shirt before, but never up close.

Gold undid his cufflinks and dropped them onto her nightstand, and she saw the breath he took to steel himself before he pulled his shirt off altogether.

It was impossible for her not to look at the scars, but Belle thought that they both knew that, and she glanced up at Gold’s face.

“May I?” she asked, reaching out a hand towards his chest. He nodded.

“Go ahead. I trust you.”

They were three tiny little words, but in the context of their relationship, considering everything that Gold had been through in his life, they held so much weight. Belle brushed her fingertips against his unmarked skin first, then ran them down his chest chest to his waistband and then back up to ghost over his nipples. He made a little noise of pleasure and Belle smirked, repeating the action before slipping her arms back up around his neck and pulling him in for another kiss. He accepted eagerly, laying her down on the bed and pressing his lips against her chin and neck, working his way down over her decolletage and down to the bow on the centre gore of her bra. He was meticulous in his ministrations as he kissed along the line where the lace met her skin, one hand coming up to cup her neglected breast, rubbing his thumb over her nipple through the fabric and plucking at it where it puckered and hardened. Belle was aching to really feel his hands on her, and she sat up, discarding her bra in the vague direction of the laundry hamper and putting Gold’s hands back on her breasts, arching her back up into his touch. His chuckle was throaty, full of need, and when he took her nipple in his mouth, sucking and toying with his tongue, she could only gasp, threading her fingers into his soft hair. He looked up, giving her a cheeky little grin from between her breasts, and Belle had to laugh. It was good to see him so happy, knowing how nervous he had been before they had made this move to the bedroom. If he was distracted from his own fears by turning his attention to her, then Belle certainly wasn’t going to complain about it. He continued to lavish her breasts with little kisses and licks, until the mounting heat between Belle’s thighs made her buck her hips up against him eagerly, urging him down towards where she wanted him most.

Gold obliged readily, dipping his tongue into her navel as he went past, and together they made quick work of the rest of her clothes, skirt, tights and panties all wriggled off and shoved off the end of the bed.

“Oh Belle…” There was reverence in Gold’s voice, but there was a definite growl of desire in there as well as he took her in from head to toe, gazing at her nakedness. For a moment, Belle felt nervous, exposed, but a glance at Gold’s trousers and the undeniable bulge straining at the fabric was more than enough to reassure her. She sat up, reaching out and pressing her hand over his hard cock, the heat of him apparent even through the layers of fabric, and she cocked her head on one side to question. _May I?_

Gold nodded, no hint of unease in his eyes. _I trust you_.

Belle opened his belt and fly with quick fingers and pushed trousers and boxers down in one movement. There was a moment of fumbling as the clothing caught on his ankle brace and Belle sat up on her knees, watching as Gold worked himself free. She placed her hand on his shoulder as he carefully unwrapped the strapping and set it on the nightstand; now that she had permission to touch, it was as if she couldn’t stand not to be in contact with his warm skin.

She could see the slightest hint of self-consciousness in his face now that he was naked, but he covered it well, gathering her up in his arms and kissing her deeply again as he stretched out on the bed, moving around until she was on top of him, his hands sweeping down her back to hold her ass, squeezing her cheeks.

“Easier on my leg,” he said by way of explanation. “And a wonderful view,” he added, eyeing her breasts and bringing one hand up to pinch her nipple. Before Belle could make any kind of reply, the same hand was delving between her legs, seeking out her slippery folds and sliding his fingers inside, touching her languidly, teasing at her clit and her entrance and making her dig her fingers into his shoulders where she was bracing herself against him.

“Yes,” she groaned as he rubbed at her pearl, his other hand coming up to cup her breast. “ _Yes_.”

He pushed a finger up inside her, then another, and Belle bucked up against his hand, desperately seeking more, wanting him to touch her everywhere all at once. She was so close, so maddeningly close, and in that moment, all she wanted was his hands on her, the rest of the world be damned.

He rolled her clit between his fingers and Belle shrieked, her orgasm bright and blinding and sudden, intensified all the more by his fingers inside her, stroking her through her ecstasy and into the glow.

As she came back to herself and managed to gain some control over her boneless limbs, Belle could see in the dim light that Gold was wearing a little smirk, looking rather proud of himself, and she had to give a little huff of laughter. Yes, when the focus was on her he was far more confident, but it was his time now, and she wanted to make him come just as undone as he had her. She reached down, taking his cock in a firm hold, stroking him from root to tip and watching the way his head rolled back with a groan.

“I think it’s your turn now,” she said, and she reached across to the nightstand to grab a condom. It took longer than it should have done to fumble and find them and she had to give up and switch the reading lamp on, but once the thing was on, she plunged them back into kind and comfortable greyness.

Gold took himself in hand, helping to line them up, and Belle sank down onto his cock eagerly. For all that she had said that this was his time, the feeling of him filling her up was so good, as if he was meant to be there. Now that he was snug inside her, she didn’t want to let go of him.

“Oh Belle,” he said, choked. “Christ, Belle, you’re so hot and tight. Please move, sweetheart, you feel so good.”

Belle rolled her hips, gradually setting a steady pace, and Gold’s pelvis snapped up to meet her, thrusting up as she sank down, and she could feel the sweat beginning to prickle on her back, could see it glistening on Gold’s chest and neck. There wasn’t a lot of finesse in their love-making, just a frantic need that had been there, bubbling under the surface, throughout their long courtship. Now that they were finally here, joined in this most intimate and beautiful way, there was an even greater sense of haste and urgency. There would be time enough to take their time later, but for now, this was what Belle wanted, just to touch and be touched and to feel Gold’s cock inside her.

“Belle!” He came with a shout of her name, his fingers digging into her bottom as his movement stilled, and Belle collapsed down onto his chest, covering him and holding him close as he came down from the high. Eventually, feeling him shrink and soften inside her, she knew she needed to move, and it was with a little sigh of reluctance that she raised herself on her knees again, letting Gold pull out of her and get rid of the condom. She flopped onto her side, taking him in her arms and pressing little kisses to his forehead, smoothing damp hair from his face. He was relaxed now, as truly relaxed as she had ever seen him, and she wanted to capture the moment and keep it close to her heart forever.

As they continued to lie in the cooling, Gold pulling the covers up over them, Belle felt that she could explore a little more, without the urgency and anticipation in her veins, there was less fear of a false step bringing everything crashing down around their ears. She shifted onto her stomach, propping herself up on one elbow, and she reached out towards Gold’s chest, what she could see of it above the sheets.

“May I?”

He nodded. “I already told you, I trust you.”

She traced a fingertip over a small tattoo, script in a language unknown to her covering a scar below his left pectoral. “What does it say?”

Gold gave a soft huff of laughter. “ _Never Surrender_.” He shifted, revealing more ink on his abdomen. “I have Bae’s name there. That was the first one I got. It felt right, the idea that my love for him could somehow heal those wounds.”

Belle smiled. “I like that idea.” She paused, her fingers stroking over Bae’s name on his skin. “Will you get any more?”

Gold shook his head, but his brow was furrowed and he did not look certain. “I would say no, that I don’t need to hide the scars anymore; I’ve got used to them being a part of me.”

“They are a part of you. And they’re not ugly.”

“No, it’s not that I’m worried about.” He gave her a sleepy, sated smile. “Not anymore.”

“You know, I’m always willing to oblige if you need more convincing.” Belle leaned across and kissed him deeply, feeling him smiling against her mouth before he returned her attentions with exuberance.

“So what are you worried about?” she asked once they eventually broke apart. “If it’s not your appearance.”

“They’re a reminder,” Gold said simply. “The scars are a reminder of all I endured, and the fact that I succeeded and survived and I’m still here, and despite everything, I’m all right and I have my family back. More family than I started with, technically.” He pulled her in closer with a chuckle. “But there are some parts of that time that I don’t want to be reminded of.”

He brought a hand down under the covers to his hip and the brand there. “I want to cover this one. I haven’t done it yet because I never wanted to think about it, I preferred to pretend it’s not there. But it’s not going to just vanish of its own accord. It’s just a question of finding something truly meaningful.”

“Maybe I could help with that?” Belle suggested. Gold nodded.

“Yes. I’d like that.”

He rolled onto his side, dancing his fingertips down Belle’s arm where it was draped across his body, and smiled at her sleepily.

“Could I see it, please?” she asked. “Your hip.”

Gold nodded, pushing the sheet down to show the jagged lines that she had seen etched over his hipbone, the letters unsteady and almost illegible, but recognisable enough as a Z. Belle reached out to touch; she did not trace the lines as she had done with some of his other scars, knowing that would not be welcome, but she just kissed her fingertips and pressed them to the mark.

“We’ll turn it into something beautiful,” she promised. “Triumph from adversity.”

A rose, perhaps, something fresh and bright, a symbol of the new life he now had. Still, there was plenty of time for them to think up something suitable. Belle pulled the covers back up, hiding the memory away, and snuggled down against his chest, Gold welcoming her readily into his arms and pressing a kiss to her hair.

“Back when we were in the hotel in Avalon, did you ever guess that one day we’d end up here?” he asked.

Belle bit her lip, looking up at him.

“Well, maybe not guess. But I definitely thought about it.” Gold raised an eyebrow and she gave an embarrassed little giggle, burying her face in his shoulder. “Come on, you should know by now that I had a crush on you practically from the moment we met. Is it really that surprising that my wonderfully overactive imagination was conjuring up some very interesting images whilst you were in the tub?”

“Is that why you were looking so ferociously interested in your book when I came out of the bathroom?” Gold laughed before pulling her in for another kiss. “Oh dearie me. I do love you, you know. And all your little quirks.”

“I love you too.”

They didn’t speak any more, just stealing little touches and kisses until they both fell into a heavy, sated sleep, the shadows of the past well and truly relegated to the darkness.

 

 

 


End file.
